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Marinsaur
Marinsaurs (aqua draco) are relatives of the Skysaur family, but they are to Skysaurs as earth-penguins are to the eagles of earth- their wings are useful only in water, and they have lost the Skysaur look to a more hydrodynamic shape. Debate continues as to whether they should be considered a part of the Skysaur family. Appearance Marinsaurs are generally 10 to 25 feet long, with huge, wide wings up to 50 feet wide. Their tails can be as long as 12 feet, with webbing lining the sides like a newt`s tail or a tadpole`s. Their legs have become short and flattened, like flippers. Their toes are webbed, and they breathe air through a blowhole on the top of their heads. They are covered in skin of variable colour that is very smooth and rather like velvet underwater, but becomes hard and brittle in the air, thus being useless to Earthlings, Tokkora and the other land species as a fur, but wonderful for True Mer and The Zenarii. Behaviour Marinsaurs live in shoals upwards of twenty members, and hunt fish and squid. They are also believed to feed on plankton, but do not depend on it. Their shoals are organised, with definite ranks and a few different leaders that make decisions together. Only Marinsaurs of above a certain rank are allowed to breed, as Marinsaurs have fifty young at one time. Most will not make it to adulthood, and if too many do for the shoal to support, the strongest five are chosen and the rest abandoned or killed. Marinsaurs, although breathing air, cannot go on land, as they would not be able to move or to support themselves. They cannot fly, but reach huge speeds underwater when they swim- far faster than any Skysaur. Domestic Marinsaurs Both the True Mer and the Zenarii have succeeded in domesticating Marinsaurs, which they use to ride, pull vehicles or, most often, lift heavy loads. Habitat and Migration Marinsaurs live in the rivers and oceans around and in the Southern Continent during the summer months, but leave for the warmer seas of the Northern Continent during winter. They can live in fresh or salt water, and sometimes lone Marinsaurs make homes in large rivers or lakes, which could never support whole shoals. Marinsaur Hunting As Skysaurs do, Marinsaurs suffer much hunting because some believe them unlucky, and their bones are believed to have medicinal purposes- sometimes, and only sometimes, eating Marinsaur marrow can cure cancer. The meat industry in the young, however, is not frowned upon as much in adults- it is said to simply help them get rid of young even quicker, and therefore help them support their shoals. Some animal rights activists protest, and many people refuse outright to eat marinsaur meat, but the upper classes consider it a delicacy. Marinsaur subspecies As biologists are still unsure whether Marinsaurs themselves are a species or a subspecies, the different types of Marinsaur are regarded as breeds. There are several recognised types, with subtle variations in colouration, shoal organisation, migratory habits and size all taken into account. Some of these breeds are: The Longfin Marinsaur The Cave Marinsaur The Beaked Marinsaur The Dwarf Marinsaur Diet Marinsaurs feed mainly on fish and plankton, but have been known to eat crustaceans and avrik seaweed. Rumours of starving shoals turning on whole cities of Zenarii and True mer, or boatloads of land species, are unlikely to be true as they do not have ideal teeth for eating large prey, and they always turn on the lower ranks of Marinsaur to get rid of them or even use them as a food source first. However, the rumours are impossible to disprove as they go back centuries and only involve small, independent cities which no-one would even be aware of. Most see the rumours as an urban myth. Category:Fauna Category:Marine Category:Skysaur Category:Zenarii Category:Northern continent Category:Southern continent Category:Food Category:Predator Category:Scavenger Category:Marinsaur Category:Medicine Category:Carnivore